I have no contract I am the office person who process orders, answers phones, set reorder limits, yada yada not to design software

if I was getting paid more then 24k I would goto a lawyer and do all of the following


i know I could get screwed real easy right about now


>Stephen
>
>First you did not stab anybody here in the back.
>
>Second, have you considered your bosses (reasonable) concerns that if they increased reliance on your product and you and your partner had a car crash or skipped off to the Bahamas after winning a lottery, where would the state be left if they have no source and now nobody to support it?
>
>I recommend you offer the bosses an "escrow" agreement such that if you or your appointed successor are unable to support/maintain the product for any reason, the source goes to the customer. Your lawyer can help with this, effectively you entrust the source to the lawyer/escrow agent at agreed intervals, they keep it safe and confidential until the (unlikely) event it is needed. It will cost a 4-figure sum per year that the client pays.
>
>This wipes out any reasonable concern re risk.
>
>Second, examine your employment contract. Is there anything about Intellectual Property? You need to make sure your employer does not automatically own anything you create. I recommend that all IT people "cross out" IP clauses, in paying a salary your employer does not own your entire creative potential, only the result of work you do in work time under instruction from the employer.
>
>Third, did you do any work on the product in company time. Can they prove it. If the answer is "yes" then you should expect an ownership challenge. If the software is bespoke for your employer, there *must* have been some tweaking/testing/development onsite while you were paid a salary. Be fair, quantify it, offset it against other advantage enjoyed by the employer. Be aware that things you say or write may be brought up later in front of an arbitrator/judge, you want to appear completely reasonable and willing to deal.
>
>I recommend you do the following:
>
>1) Add a copyright notice to the manuals, detailing your ownership.
>2) Add a copyright notice to the "created by..." message at sign on.
>3) Add copyright notices to all your progs if you don't already have them.
>4) Invest in Konxise immediately. It encrypts your exes so they can't be decompiled easily.
>5) Get hold of a standard license agreement with escrow provisions. Offer it to your employer with a $0 license cost clearly defined for your area, not the entire state.
>6) Get a lawyer to help define "work/out of work" provisions. E.g. if support is "free" then surely it should be during work time, you are not a charity. If you own the product then should upgrades/improvements be during or out of work time? Should the customer pay for upgrades?
>7) Try to strike a deal. It is no use to you if they move to a different product because both you and they adopt entrenched positions.
>8) Why is it a problem if the bosses look good? Every manager wants to look good. Try to help them in a way that also meets your needs. How about a "state wide" license negotiated by them for a reasonable fee. How about a "support company" joint owned by you and the state, managed by them, which employs you and maintains the software and tries to sell it commercially to other states. Look for a "win-win".
>
>HTH
>
>Regards
>
>JR